Device for turning sheet music



2 1935. H. HYSWHTH DEVICE FOR TURNING SHEET MUSIC Filed June 29, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l LINE.

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35 fJZUQIZZWF rifezz ez' 5125a (5% Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel and improved mechanism adapted for association with a music stand, whereby sheet music may be turned without the use of the hands of the musician.

An object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described having novel and improved means for turning sheet music when the same is dispose-d in position on a music stand or the like, said means being foot operated, whereby the hands of the musician will be free at all times.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described having foot operated means for turning sheet music, said means including an electromagnet and co-operating with a suitable element attached to the sheet music, whereby said sheet music will be attracted by said magnet to bring about the desired action of turning the sheet.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described having novel and improved foot actuating means for bringing an electromagnet into contacting engagement with an element attached to the sheet music for attracting said element to bring about the turning of the sheet.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in mechanism of the character described having a lever, to the free end of which is secured an electromagnet which is normally not energized and which is held in a position so as not to obstruct the full View of the sheet music, but which may be moved by a foot operated means to another position for engaging with an element provided on the sheet music to bring about the turning of the same, said lever being energized prior to being brought into contacting engagement with the element on the sheet music.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described which will be simple in construction, assembly and operation, which may be produced along lines for low cost manufacture, and which will be highly efiicient for carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the vantages should be readily understood and appre- 10 ciated.

Referring to thedrawings in which the same characters of reference 'are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a music stand having associated therewith an embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of my improved mechanism shown disposed in a housing provided on the music stand with the front cover of said housing removed;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the mechanism disposed in a different operative position;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of my improved mechanism, the housing therefor being shown in section;

Fig. 5 is an electrical diagram, the electrical energy being supplied from the ordinary house current; and

Fig. 6 is a diagram similar to Fig. 5, but showing the electrical energy supplied by means of batteries.

Referring to the drawings more specifically by characters of reference, the numeral ill designates a rest upon which is adapted to be disposed in upstanding position sheets of music I i, said rest stand having provided thereon adjacent one end thereof suitable stops 82, for a purpose to be presently more fully described.

Rigidly secured to the lower portion of the rest I is a housing or casing i3 within which my improved mechanism to be presently described is disposed. Said housing may be completely enclosed with the exception of the cutout portion M provided in the front wall thereof, and a cut-out portion l provided in the top wall thereof. The top wall of said housing forms the bottom rest for the sheet music ii. If desired, a suitable lamp l6 disposed within a reflector i? may be provided adjacent the upper end of said rest to give the desired illumination for the sheet music.

The rest 10 with its associated housing 53 is mounted on an upstanding frame l8 to which it may be hinged, (not shown) whereby said rest may assume the desired angular relation with respect to the frame l8. In order to support the device in upstanding position, the frame I8 is provided adjacent its lower end with the horizontally disposed frame l9, which frame is of a size suificient to provide a solid base for the music stand. Suitable bracing members 25 and 21 may be provided for the frame 58 to further strengthen the same, whereby a substantially rigid structure is produced.

My improved foot operated mechanism for turning the sheets ll disposed on the rest I comprises a lever 22 pivotally secured intermediate its ends to the rear wall 23 of the housing it, as shown at 24. One end of said lever has secured thereto one end of a flexible member such as a cord or the like designated by the reference character 25 as shown at 25. The flexible member or cord 25 extends from the lever 22 and is passed over a pulley 27 which is secured to the rear wall 23 by means of a suitable bracket 28.

From said pulley 21 the cord 25 extends downwardly and is passed under a second pulley 29 which is secured to the cross member 21 from which pulley the cord 25 extends through an opening 30 provided within the second cross member 29, and from such opening said cord extends under a pulley 3| which is rigidly secured to the underside of the cross member 29, the free end of said member 25 then being connected to a foot pedal 32, as shown at 33. The member 32 is hinged to a member 34 which is rigidly secured to the frame l9 as shown in Fig. 1. From the above it will be apparent that upon the application of pressure with the foot to the member 32, a pull will be exerted on the lever 22 moving said lever in a counter-clockwise direction. The cross member 2!, as shown in Fig. 1,

may be pivoted as shown at 35, whereby the same may be moved to increase or decrease the tension on the string or flexible member 25, said pivot connection 35 being such as to hold the said member 2| in any position to which itrnay be moved.

The lever 22 is also connected, as shown at 35, to one end of a coiled spring 3?, the other end of which is secured to a stud 33 provided on the rear wall 23 of the housing 5 3. The spring 5! will normally tend to move the lever 22 in a clockwise direction, so that any pull exerted on the string 25 on the application of pressure to the foot pedal 32 will be against the action of said spring 37.

To the opposite end of the lever 22 is pivotally secured one end of a member 39 as shown at 40, the other end of said member 33 being pivotally secured as shown at 4! to one end of a pivotally mounted arm 42. The arm 42 has rigidly secured thereto a disk 43, which disk and arm are rigidly secured to a sleeve 44, said sleeve being mounted for rotary movement on a shaft @5, the free ends of which shaft are journaled in bearings 46 mounted on the rear wall 23 of the housing l3.

A suitable opening 41 is provided in the rear wall 23 to permit the rotary movement of the. arm and associated disk 43. A further suitableopening 48 is provided in the rear wall 23 to permit the free movement of the end of the member 39 where it is connected to the lever 42. From the above it will be apparent that any pull exerted on the flexible member 25 will cause a; movement of the lever 22 in a counter-clockwise direction against the action of i the spring 31, which movement will be transmitted to the member 39 resulting in a counter-clockwise movement of the arm 42.

To the free end of the arm 42 is pivotally con- 5 nected a second arm 49, adjacent the free end of which is mounted a suitable electromagnet 55. The arm 42, as illustrated in the drawings, is adapted for movement in a horizontal plane, whereas the arm 49 is connected to the arm 42 by means of the pivot 5| to permit the same to move in a vertical plane, whereby the same may be brought to the position shown in Fig. 3, in which position the said arm 49 will be substantially perpendicular to the arm 42. A stop 79 is provided on the arm 42 for limiting the move- 7 ment of the arm 49 in one direction. r In order to actuate the arm 49, there is provided a link 52, one end of which is pivotally secured, as shown at 53, to one end of the arm 49, and the other end of said link is pivotally secured to one end of a lever 54as' shown at-55. The lever 55 is. pivoted intermediate its ends, .as shown at 55, to the arm 42, the other end of said lever 54 being provided with a bent portion 51, which portion is adapted to ride against a suitably shaped track 58, the free ends of which are rigidly secured, as shown at 59, to the rear wall 23 of the housing I 3. As shown in Fig. 4, the track or member 58 is mounted in .a horizontal plane and is disposed below and substantially parallel to the arm 42. The curvature of the member 58 is substantially as shown in Fig. 4, and is of increasing radius from left to right as viewed in Fig. 4.

When the arm 42 is actuated it will move with 7 it the lever 54, the lower bent portion 5'! of which will be in contacting engagement with the curved member 58, and as the same travels to the right, as viewed in Fig. 4, said member 58 will cause the lever 54 to turn about'its pivot in a counter-clockwise direction, thereby causing the link 52 to'push on its pivot 53 to swing the arm 49 about its pivot 5! in a clockwise direction or to an upstanding position, which position it will assume .at the completion of the movement of the arm 42 in a counter-clockwise direction. j

To prevent the lower bent portion 57 of the lever 54 from going out of contacting engagement with the curved member 58, a piece of wire or any other suitable material 69 may extend from the body of the level 54 to the free end of the bent portion 51. r r

- The coil 59 is normally not energized, that is when the mechanism is in the position shown in Fig. 2. However, in order to energize the'same so as to produce the desired magnetism therein the following mechanism is provided forcompleting an electric circuit to the coil 59. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, there is attached to the underside of the arm 42 a spring movable contact 6| which 6 is adapted to cooperate with a fixed contact '62. the latter contact being in the form of a curved member, one end-of which is rigidly secured as' shown .at 63, to the rear wall 23 of the housing 13. In order to further support the fixed contact 62, the same may have a depending portion 64, the bottom end of which is secured, as shown at 55, to the rear wall 23. I e The movable contact 6| is connected by means of a conductor 66 to the coil 50, the other end of; 7

each other a circuit will becompleted to the coil 5i] for energizing the same.

When the batteries are used, the same may be disposed within a housing l3, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the said batteries 69 and Hi supplying the necessary energy for energizing the coil 50 as shown in the wiring diagram in Fig. 6. Thus as shown in this figure, the movable contact BI is connected by means of a conductor H to one end of the coil 50, the other end of said coil being connected by a conductor 12 to one end of the battery 69, the other end of said battery is connected by means of a conductor 13 to one end of a battery 10 and the other end of the latter battery being connected to a board 14 to the fixed contact 62.

Provided on each sheet of music II, on the right hand edge thereof, is a suitable metal clip 15, which clip is detachably secured in any suitable .and well known manner to said sheet. In the embodiment illustrated, the clip may be of a construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in which construction it consists of three prongs, the center prong of which is ofi'set, whereby the sheet may be clamped between the said center prong and the end prong. The clip 15 is of magnetic material, so that when the electromagnet 50 is brought into contacting engagement with the same it will be .attracted thereby to turn the sheet.

The clips 15 are disposed on said sheet music a determined distance from the bottom edge thereof, so that it will be in line with the coil 50 when the latter is moved to the position shown in Fig. 3. The stops l2 provided on the music rest ID will assist in disposing the right hand edge of the sheet H in proper position relative to the coil 58 when the latter is moved to the position shown in Fig. 3.

In operation, it will be noted that the normal inoperative position of the mechanism is as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in which position the arm 49, which is the only part extending outside of the housing I3 will be disposed so as not to obstruct a full view of the sheet music I I. When it is desired to turn the sheet, the operator will press on the foot pedal 32, thereby causing the lever 22 to move in a counter-clockwise direction against the action of the spring 31. The movement of the lever will be transmitted to the arm 42. The movement of the arm 42 will actuate the lever 54 by reason of its contacting engagement with the curved member 58 resulting in the swinging upward movement of the arm 49, which arm will assume the position shown in Fig. 3 upon the completion of its travel.

As shown in Fig. 3, the normal position of the contacts BI and 62 is a non-contacting position, said contacts being out of engagement with each other until substantially a half of the distance to betraveled by the arm 42 has been completed, at which time the contacts BI and 62 will engage for completing the circuit to the coil 50, thereby energizing the same, so that when the arm 42 has been brought to the end of its travel the coil 59 will be energized and will be in condition to attract the member 54. The release of pressure on the foot pedal 32 will now permit the spring 31 to move the parts back to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

As these parts are moved in the reverse direction, the coil 50 will remain energized thereby holding the clip 15 in contact therewith until the sheet I I has been swung past the center point on the rest [0. At this time the contacts BI and 62 will disengage thereby breaking the circuit to the coil, disenergizing the same and releasing the clip F5 from engagement with the coil 50, thereby permitting the sheet to drop to the position on the left hand side of the rest as shown in Fig. 1.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantages, should be readily understood and appreciated from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are, nevertheless, capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination with a sheet music rest, of a sheet of music having magnetic attracting means disposed thereon, an electromagnet, means for normally holding said electromagnet in inoperative position, foot operated means for moving said electromagnet to operative position, said last mentioned means including a horizontally disposed rotatable lever, a second lever pivotally secured to the free end of said first lever, and having said electromagnet disposed adjacent the free end thereof, said second lever being normally held in substantially horizontal position, and means for moving said second lever to a substantially vertical position as the said first mentioned lever travels from its normal inoperative position to its operative position.

2. In combination with a sheet music rest, of a sheet of music having magnetic attracting means disposed thereon, an electromagnet, means for normally holding said electromagnet in inoperative position, foot operated means for moving said electromagnet to operative position, said last mentioned means including a horizontally disposed rotatable lever, a second lever pivotally secured to the free end of said first lever and having said electromagnet disposed adjacent the free end thereof, said second lever being normally held in substantially horizontal position, means for moving said second lever to a substantially vertical position as the said first mentioned lever travels from its normal inoperative position to its operative position, means for actuating said second lever, including a substantially vertically disposed lever pivoted intermediate its ends to said first mentioned lever, the upper free end of said vertically disposed lever being connected by a link member to the inner end of said second lever, and a curved member of varying radius engaging the lower end of said vertically disposed lever for imparting a swinging movement thereto as the first mentioned lever travels from its inoperative position to its fully operative position.

3. In combination with a sheet music rest, of a sheet of music having magnetic attracting means disposed thereon and arranged on said rest, a horizontally disposed arm having a second arm pivotally secured thereto for movement in a vertical plane, an electromagnet disposed adjacent the free end of said second arm, means for imparting rotary movement to said first mentioned arm, and means associated with said first mentioned arm for moving said second mentioned arm to a substantially vertical position upon the rotation of said first mentioned arm whereby said electromagnet may be brought into contacting engagement with the magnetic attracting means disposed on said sheet of music.

4. In combination with a sheet music rest, of a sheet of music having magnetic attracting means disposed thereon, a horizontally disposed arm adapted for rotary movement in a horizontal plane, foot operated means for imparting rotary movement to said arm, spring means normally holding said arm in one position, a second arm pivotally secured to said first mentioned arm and being arranged for movement in a vertical plane, means connecting said first mentioned arm to said second arm, whereby rotary movement of said 10 first mentioned arm will impart a movement to said second mentioned a'rm', an electromagnet dis.- posed adjacent the free end of said second mentioned arm, an electric circuit for energizing said electromagnet, said electric circuit being normally open, and means for closing said electric circuit when said second mentioned arm reaches a certain predetermined position relative to said first mentioned arm. 

